


Elevated Thoughts

by fxvixen



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: M/M, Trapped In Elevator, specifically a white rosy boa, there's a snake
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-20
Updated: 2017-05-20
Packaged: 2018-11-03 01:11:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,767
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10956579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fxvixen/pseuds/fxvixen
Summary: Akaashi squeezes his eyes shut harder and takes a deep breath. He opens his eyes slowly and looks at the man seated across from him.One Bokuto Koutarou. A menace to everything that Akaashi is. A threat to his very state of mind. Something that must be avoided at all costs.





	Elevated Thoughts

Great. This is just… great.

Akaashi sits with his back against the cool wall of the elevator, head tipped back to try to cut off his rising headache. 

A headache. That’s the only issue here. Nothing to do with confined spaces or confusing emotions or adorable men or… or snakes. 

Nothing to do with them. 

“Woah there, buddy. You almost fell.”

Akaashi squeezes his eyes shut harder and takes a deep breath. He opens his eyes slowly and looks at the man seated across from him. 

One Bokuto Koutarou. A menace to everything that Akaashi is. A threat to his very state of mind. Something that must be avoided at all costs. 

Bokuto is currently enamoured with the snake curling around his hands and wrist, talking to it and smiling at it like it’s something to be cherished. Like it’s something precious that must be protected when Akaashi knows full well that it should be exterminated. 

He must sense Akaashi’s gaze because he looks up and meets his eyes. Bokuto’s eyes light up. “Hi!”

They’ve been stuck in this elevator for 15 minutes. They greeted each other when they first got in. Bokuto said something irritating when they realized they were stuck. Akaashi said he would call the landlord. They’ve spoken back and forth a total of 3 times already and now he says, “Hi,” upon meeting his gaze. It’s completely irrational. 

It’s incredibly endearing.

“Hello,” Akaashi replies, hoping his eyes convey how dead he feels inside and how much he despises this entire situation. The one bright side is that he’s now missing the required monthly dinner with his father. 

Unfortunately, at that moment, the snake on Bokuto’s hand attempts to detach itself from his person and he misses Akaashi’s look to gather it back up. 

“Are you not afraid that it will get loose and slip through a crack and disappear into the building?” Akaashi clenches and unclenches his hands. 

“Feddy? Oh, nah, I’m not worried! He’s escaped before but he came slithering back when I got out the mice.” 

Adrenaline courses through Akaashi at the thought of the snake being loose in his apartment building. He is now going to check around every single corner expecting a snake to be there. 

Just.. great.

Clenching his teeth, Akaashi hisses a breath in and out. Then another. 

“My Feddy is a good snake, yes you are!” Bokuto brings the snake close to his face and nuzzles its side a bit with his nose. Akaashi fears for his life. 

Trying to change the subject to literally anything else, Akaashi says the first thing that pops into his head. 

“Snakes and birds are natural enemies, you know.” 

Almost. 

Almost means nothing, may as well  _ be _ nothing. 

Bokuto lights up. “I do know! Do you like birds?! I love birds! Especially owls! Did you know there’s a kind of owl that lives with blind snakes in their nest? It’s called a Scream Owl!” 

“A Screech Owl.” Akaashi does know. He wishes he didn’t have to be reminded of the relationship that is a mistake of nature. 

“Yeah, that one. It’s so cool. It’s the cullination of my two favorite things, snakes and birds! I couldn’t believe it when I heard about it.”

“Culmination.” Akaashi pauses. “You like… owls?” 

“Oh yeah! That’s why I do my hair this way. I like the great horned ones and I thought this hairstyle looked awesome  _ and  _ looks like the owl. Win-win!” 

It’s no surprise that Akaashi looks at Bokuto’s hairstyle, now that the reasoning behind it is coming up. It’s almost plastered into two spikes appearing to emerge from his skull. Akaashi’s never seen him without it done up like that. 

Of course, he hasn’t seen Bokuto all that many times. After the first time Akaashi saw him, he tried very hard to see him as little as possible, despite their living in the same building. The first time they met was something that Akaashi could never forget, something that haunts him late at night. 

Bokuto had come over to introduce himself. Apparently he did it with everyone new in the building. It was kind and something that drew Akaashi to him the moment he opened the door. The first thing Akaashi had noticed upon seeing Bokuto was that he was very attractive. The conventionally rugged kind of attractive, if you ignored the comical aspects of his hair and his over dramatic expressions. 

It may be safe to say that Akaashi had been instantly smitten with him. Bokuto was sweet and nice and loud, an opposite to his own personality. It was interesting. 

And then Bokuto had explained the reasoning behind visiting each new person. 

He owned a snake. Not a particularly big or venomous one, but a nice one, Bokuto had said.

Akaashi had felt the daydream of going out with this sweet man, ending with a possible good fucking, screech to a halt. 

No. No snakes. Absolutely not. No way in hell. Nope.  _ No _ . Out of the question. 

Akaashi had politely listened to Bokuto’s poorly construed argument that his snake was not vermin and then shut the door firmly with no regrets. 

Almost no regrets. Obviously almost means nothing. 

Looking at Bokuto’s hair now causes Akaashi to appraise the rest of the man as well. He is still very attractive. He is still sweet. Something starts to crack in Akaashi’s mind. 

“What do you think of Fedichini?” Bokuto holds the snake out in his direction. 

Despite the meter of distance separating them, Akaashi sinks back and tries to become one with the metal wall of the elevator. Then the words register. “Fedichini?” 

“Yeah! My snake! I originally thought about Noodle but since he’s all white I thought Fedichini would be cooler. Like a Fedichini noodle, get it?” 

Somehow, Akaashi just  _ knows _ that while the pronunciation is close, the spelling on every piece of documentation that has dealt with this snake is spelled in some horrific way.  

Akaashi shakes his head and goes back to the question. “I do not particularly like snakes. At all. In fact, some would say I dislike them.” 

Bokuto brings the snake back in a holds it close to his chest as it continues twisting around his hands. “Aahh, Akaaaashi. Are you afraid of snakes?” 

Akaashi purses his lips. “I have an aversion to them. I prefer not to be around them.” 

“Well then Feddy is the perfect one for you to meet!” Anxiety spikes through Akaashi as Bokuto shuffles across the elevator floor to sit next to him and Akaashi freezes. “He super nice and doesn’t mind being handled. The only time he gets kinda snippy is right after I’ve fed him and that was last week so he’s totally nice right now! Do you want to hold him?”

Bokuto does not push the snake in his direction again, which is probably the only thing that keeps Akaashi from outright freaking out. 

“No. I do not want to hold him. I would prefer not to be stuck in this elevator with him either.” Akaashi wants to look away so he doesn’t have to see how close it is to him but he also can’t because what if it gets closer while he’s not watching. The predicament means Akaashi intently watches the snake slither around in Bokuto’s hands, making sure it doesn’t get any closer. 

After a few moments of this, Akaashi realizes that it has been silent for the time that he’s been staring at the snake. He glances quickly at Bokuto and sees him looking back as intently as Akaashi is looking at the snake. 

“What,” Akaashi snaps at him, fear and frustration rising. 

“I think you’re really pretty! I’m trying to figure out how to get you to like my snake, because I like you and my snake. Feddy likes everyone, so I just need to figure out how to get you to like him and then we can be friends.” Bokuto absentmindedly repositions the snake so it rests up his arm instead of in both of his hands. 

“People do not just…” Akaashi isn’t sure how to explain. “People cannot just hold their fears in their hands, get over it, and become friends with it, Bokuto-san.”

Bokuto makes a face. “-san? Akaashi, you don’t gotta use that.”

“We barely know each other.” 

“Yeah, but I want to be friends!” 

“If you wish, we can attempt to be friends some other time where there are no snakes and we are not in a confined area with said snake.” Akaashi looks away then, somewhat confident that Bokuto would not let the snake near him. 

“Aaaww, Akaashiii, I promise Feddy isn’t that bad!” Bokuto pouts at him, then he brightens again. “Hey! What if I direct his head away from you, would you want to touch his back?” 

Akaashi glares at him. The look has absolutely no effect. Bokuto just stares at him with wide, hopeful eyes. 

Akaashi sighs. “If I allow this, will you take the… creature–”

“Feddy!”

“–back to the other side of the elevator for the duration of us being stuck in here?”

Bokuto grins. “I will if you call him Feddy!” 

Akaashi looks deep in his eyes, wondering how any of this could possibly be worth it, why he’s doing it. He can’t think of an end goal to justify doing this and it leaves his mind blank for several moments. Then he speaks. “I agree to touch Feddy very briefly.” 

Bokuto lets out a loud crow, startling Akaashi into thinking the snake might jump at him. The noise is incredibly loud in the small space. 

Bokuto rearranges the snake so it’s head is up his arm and tucked under his arm a little. The part closest to Akaashi is just the end of its tail wrapped around Bokuto’s hand and through his fingers. 

Akaashi steels himself and lifts his hand partway. He hesitates and checks to make sure the head has stayed hidden. It has. 

There’s no reason not to do it. It’s safe. Bokuto seems like a capable handler and he doesn’t seem like the kind of person to lie to get what he wants. The cracks in the wall keeping Bokuto and himself separated widen. Some affection seeps through. Some trust.

There’s no reason not to do it. There’s also no reason to do it. It’s an equal choice and Bokuto probably wouldn’t be upset with him if he just admitted that he was scared. 

Admitted… fear...

_ As if.  _

Akaashi glares at the tail of the snake and reaches his hand forward to touch it. The second Akaashi’s hand touches the smooth scales, he freezes. It’s cool and extremely smooth. Akaashi quickly glances towards the head. The snake has curled around Bokuto’s upper arm but doesn’t seem to be paying him any mind. 

Akaashi runs his fingers gingerly down the snake’s body. His curiosity takes over for a moment, feeding him questions.  

_ What kind of snake is this? How long does it live? How big does it get? Is is venomous? What is its typical prey? _

Admittedly some of the questions are still motivated by fear. 

Akaashi still makes a point to stroke its back multiple times, aware that he may never have the courage to do this again. 

“You’re so intense about everything Agaaashi.” 

The disruption to his thoughts causes Akaashi to pull back his hand and look at Bokuto. In the moment, all of his attention had been focused on the snake. He’d forgotten that the snake was attached to a person. 

Bokuto is looking at him with intent eyes. It’s slightly unnerving, like a hunter watching its prey. 

Then he beams. “Isn’t he so cool! You were really into him, weren’t you? I can tell these kinds of things. Feddy is the best. Everyone likes Feddy.” Then Bokuto frowns. “Shoot.” 

“What,” Akaashi says, afraid Bokuto is about to say something like ‘Shoot, I forgot to give him this really important calming drug this morning so he totally couldn’t have killed you there. Oops!’

“Aaaww,” Bokuto scratches his ear. “I was supposed to meet these kids this afternoon and show Feddy off, but–” Bokuto pulls out and checks his phone. “I don’t think it’s going to happen now. Their class started 5 minutes ago.”

Akaashi doesn’t know what kind of response that warrants. “I’m sorry.”

“Ah, it’ll be okay! I got to spend time with you after all. I’m just afraid of disappointing those kids.” Bokuto shuffles back over to his side of the elevator and brings Feddy back into both hands. 

Knowing that it was his request that Bokuto go back over there, Akaashi can’t help but think this is less of a fulfillment of that request and more of a retreat. Bokuto pouts down at his snake and looks at it pitifully. 

The abrupt change is somewhat disorienting. Akaashi isn’t sure what to do about it and his walls crumble a bit more as he wracks his brain for a solution.

“You could schedule another meeting with them on a different day?” he suggests. 

Bokuto scowls. “Why? I’ll probably get stuck in the elevator again. Or maybe I’ll get kidnapped by a taxi driver.” 

Akaashi resists rolling his eyes. “Or maybe you’ll get there and the kids will be really happy and forget that you missed today. Better late than never, isn’t that the saying?” 

Bokuto frowns some more, presumably thinking. 

Then he looks up, beaming once more. “You’re so smart Akaashii! I’ll go in and just be so amazing that they’ll forget all about today! I’ll wow the pants off of them!” 

The edge of Akaashi’s lips quirk. “I hope not. That is technically illegal.” 

Bokuto doesn’t seem to catch the joke. It’s probably for the best. 

He’s talking to Feddy once more. “Yeah! We’ll go rock their worlds, won’t we Feddy? It won’t be too hard to convince them that we’re super cool since we totally are.”

Akaashi does roll his eyes this time since Bokuto is once more entranced by his snake. 

Suddenly there is the sound of several loud bangs and shouting coming from somewhere above them. Akaashi looks up, searching for the source of the noise while knowing that he won’t be able to see it. He looks to see Bokuto also looking up but holding Feddy closer to his body, as if to shield him from whatever is going on. 

The elevator dings. 

Akaashi can feel the movement when it starts. They’re going down. He has a sudden vision of the elevator plummeting down instead of its slow descent, and he feels a chill down his spine. 

“Whew! We’re saved Akaashi!” Bokuto stands up and looks delighted. 

Akaashi stands as well, smiling a little with relief. “Indeed.” 

The elevator dings once more and the doors open to the lobby of their building. A firefighter is standing there with a radio. He speaks into it. “We got ‘em. Nice job boys.” 

“Thanks, chief.”

The man strides forward.  “You kids okay?” 

Akaashi nods. “We’re fine.” 

“Yeah, Feddy is okay too, officer, don’t worry!” Bokuto smiles at him. 

The fighter frowns, confusion plain on his face. “I’m not an– wait.. Feddy?” He looks between them. “What?” 

Akaashi tries not to laugh but he ends up smirking instead. 

Bokuto pushes Feddy toward him and out from the cocoon of his arms that he had him tucked in. “This is Feddy!” 

The man takes a step back and swallows. “Right. Well, I’m glad you kids are okay. I’ve got to.. check up on our other people, so… good day.” 

He turns and quickly walks away. Akaashi smirks at his back. Bokuto snickers beside him, clearly aware of what the snake would do to the firefighter. 

Akaashi snorts. “I can’t believe he called us ‘kids.’ I doubt he was more than a year older.”

Bokuto turns to him, beaming again. Akaashi has to fight not to take his own step back when met face to face with the snake once more. 

“I’ll see you around, Aggaaashii!” Bokuto takes the end of Feddy’s tail and dramatically uses it almost as a tissue to wipe his eyes and then proceeds to wave with it. “Byyee!” 

Bokuto disappears out the front door of their building and Akaashi just watches him go. 

_ Shit.  _ Akaashi had wanted to ask him what type of snake it was so he could do some research. Too late for that now. He’ll have to stop by Bokuto’s apartment. 

Feeling the tattered ruins of the wall in his mind, Akaashi wavers.

Maybe. Possibly. 

Akaashi starts climbing the stairs back to his apartment. 

He’ll consider it. 

**Author's Note:**

> hey hey hey, i realized i hadn't written bokuaka in awhile and i wanted to change that, so here~ 
> 
> gOd, i love writing from akaashi's perspective
> 
> find me on [tumblr](http://fxvixen.tumblr.com/)


End file.
